Walter Wriston, a longtime director on ICOS Corp.’s board and former chairman and chief executive officer of Citicorp/ Citibank, died Wednesday at age 85 of pancreatic cancer. Wriston, who lived in New York, announced last week that he wouldn’t run for re-election to the ICOS board. Paul Clark, chairman of the Bothell-based biotechnology company, said Wriston’s “vision and leadership have been invaluable and will serve ICOS for many years to come.”
American Airlines delays Boeing order
American Airlines will push back delivery dates on 54 jets it has on order with the Boeing Co. The airline’s parent company, AMR Corp., on Thursday reported a $387 million loss for the fourth quarter of 2004 – more than triple the $111 million it lost in the same period of 2003. High fuel prices were the culprit, AMR said. Fuel cost 67 percent more in the most recent quarter compared with last year, which raised expenses by $477 million. American has 56 Boeing planes on order, 47 737s and nine Everett-built 777s.
Loans, not vehicles, provide Ford profit
Income from Ford Motor Co.’s financing and credit business helped the nation’s No. 2 automaker earn a $104 million profit in the fourth quarter despite a loss on the automotive side. The company, which released fourth-quarter and year-end results on Thursday, withheld its financial forecast for 2005 until next week. Ford’s profit for the October-December period compared with a loss of $793 million a year ago. The fourth-quarter profit amounted to 6 cents a share, compared with a loss of 43 cents a share in the October-December period a year ago.
HealthSouth search wins judge’s OK
Richard Scrushy lost a key pretrial round Thursday when a judge refused to throw out secret recordings that prosecutors contend prove the fired HealthSouth CEO was part of a massive fraud. In a separate order issued five days before opening statements in Scrushy’s trial, U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre also ruled that the FBI didn’t violate Scrushy’s privacy by searching his HealthSouth office suite without a warrant. A defense spokesman had no immediate comment on the judge’s rulings. Final jury selection is set for Monday, with opening statements Tuesday. Scrushy, 52, is charged with fraud, conspiracy, perjury, obstruction of justice, money laundering and violating the new Sarbanes-Oxley law on corporate reporting.
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